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Critics Consensus: Though quirky coming-of-age themes are common in indie films, this one boasts a smart script and a great cast.
Critic Consensus: Though quirky coming-of-age themes are common in indie films, this one boasts a smart script and a great cast.
All Critics (115) | Top Critics (31) | Fresh (82) | Rotten (33) | DVD (6)
Unlike so many movies in which a character changes in order to propel the plot forward, this one stops to follow up on the consequences of those changes.
A tender but glib coming-of-age journey.
So no one would argue that Thumbsucker sucks. But the thing does seem just so indie-movie familiar.
Mills, who hails from the world of music videos and TV commercials, has surrounded Pucci with a superlative group of actors, all of whom are in tune with his quiet, low-key approach to humor.
Brave, funny leap into the abyss of adolescence.
Mills makes his debut in impressive fashion, which means he finds a nice tone with which to take us on this familiar but ultimately rewarding ride.
Mills, a former music video director, writes and directs with subtle clarity, bringing a refreshing sensibility to the archetypical tale in which a displaced teen comes of age in a confusing and banal environment.
Many films portray teens as Frankenstein monsters bolted together by peer pressure and prescription drugs. "Thumbsucker" bests most of them by avoiding fingers wagged in caution and addressing the opportunity costs of adolescence and adulthood.
So unexciting that it almost made me want to suck my thumb or whatever to get over sitting through such a heavy going and dull film.
Everything. Came. Together. Beautifully.
Here, adolescence is a pandemic condition, a metaphor for the endless human struggle to become comfortable in one's own skin, blemishes and all.
Bonus points are awarded for the soundtrack by Tim Delaughter and many of his compatriots from the Polyphonic Spree.
Nowhere near as good as Mike Mills' follow up, Beginners, but Thumbsucker definitely plants the seeds of a budding auteur
Super Reviewer
"You are not alone. You are not afraid. You don't need your thumb, and your thumb doesn't need you." Justin throws himself and everyone around him into chaos when he attempts to break free from his addiction to his thumb.
A young man, who occasionally still sucks his thumb, navigates adolescence, occasionally finding solace in a new love, an ADD diagnosis, and success in debate club. I simply have no idea what this film is about. I understand the plot of course, but what this film is saying about adolescence or parenting or the over-medication of today's youth is still a mystery to me. One reviewer remarked that unlike other coming-of-age films, this film tracks the effect of the adjustments adolescents make along the way. I find this comment both insightful and perplexing. It is true that the film denies its character easy solutions, but the ending implies that the ultimate answer lies in escape, independence, and time, all of which amount to, in my mind, an easy solution. Is the film simply saying that yes, adolescence is difficult, but it eventually ends? I don't know. Overall, I think there's something interesting going on here, but it's escaped me.
i like to get high and have blindfolded sex with my new girlfriend.
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